PARIS/GENEVA : Millions of people across France woke up drenched in sweat on Tuesday after another night of scorching heat, with most of the population exposed to extreme and exceptional temperatures.
Temperatures will remain exceptionally high around the clock as the national weather service, Meteo France, placed 54 departments under a red heat wave alert. That is about half of the country.
In a country without widespread air-conditioning, schools, trains and sporting events remain impacted, while some 20 drowning deaths have been reported since the weekend.
Human-caused climate change is tied to increasingly extreme weather, and UN climate agency projections say the next five years should shatter more heat records.
“Sunshine continues to dominate across France, maintaining oppressive and exhausting heat throughout the country,” Meteo France said. Extreme conditions are expected to last at least until the end of the week, with daytime highs above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in many towns.
“Further record-breaking temperatures are expected, including some that could surpass all previous records, regardless of the time of year,” Meteo France said.
The heat wave is exceptionally intense, coming very early in the summer, “but with a still uncertain duration,” the weather service said. It has already been compared to the August 2003 heat wave, when the highest temperatures in over half a century caused an estimated 15,000 deaths, many of them among older people in apartments and retirement homes without air conditioning.
France introduced a heat watch warning system after that heat wave.
Drownings toll rises
French Sports and Youth Minister Marina Ferrari told the France Inter broadcaster Tuesday that around 20 people had drowned since the beginning of the weekend, urging swimmers flocking to the country’s waters in a bid to beat the heat to respect safety rules.
A civil security spokesman on Monday gave a previous toll of 13 people dead by drowning at the weekend.
France’s Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is due to chair a further crisis meeting on the heatwave with cabinet ministers on Tuesday morning.
A country with little air-conditioning swelters
Several towns across France experienced their hottest day ever on Monday. Paris baked through its hottest night for June, not getting below 24.2°C (75.5°F). The French capital broke another June record with 37.7°C (99.9°F) recorded Monday afternoon.
“This will continue through the end of the week, with heat levels never before recorded across more than three-quarters of the country on Wednesday and Thursday,” the weather service said.
The heat wave worsened air quality in Paris as it causes the formation of ozone that traps pollution. The air quality monitoring agency in the Paris region said pollutants were likely to exceed the recommended threshold.
In a country without widespread air-conditioning, people tried to adapt. Education minister Edouard Geffray said 1,352 schools were closed on Monday due to the heat, while several thousand adjusted their schedules, with students released earlier and classes relocated in air-conditioned rooms.
Deaths are reported in rivers and a parked car
A growing swath of France, spreading on Monday to more than half its regions, was under a “red alert” for heat, with areas forecast to suffer highs past 40°C and nights not dropping below 20°C.
Broadcasts on the Paris transport network urged commuters to hydrate. Medical specialists warned of the potentially deadly combination of drinking alcohol in extreme heat. Authorities cracked down on alcohol consumption in public.
Multiple drownings were reported as people sought relief in rivers, despite warnings about currents and other dangers.
Two children, aged 2 and 4, died on Monday after being found unconscious in their family’s car in the southern town of Carpentras, according to a statement from the public prosecutor. According to initial findings, they had locked themselves inside the vehicle. An investigation was opened under the offense of involuntary manslaughter. Government messages warned parents not to leave children unattended in cars.
Italy declares red heatwave alert in 15 cities
Italy’s health ministry declared a red heatwave alert in 15 cities including Milan and Rome on Tuesday and said the number would go up to 16 on Wednesday.
During a red alert — the highest level — the ministry advises people to eat light, stay indoors in the hottest parts of the day and sprinkle themselves with cool water.
IFRC warns heat gripping Europe can quickly become be a matter of life and death
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world’s largest humanitarian network, said that besides the sweltering outdoor temperatures, indoor heat was also a serious health risk.
“The coming days pose serious health risks,” Mary Friel, the IFRC’s senior climate policy officer, told a press conference in Geneva.
“For thousands of people across Europe, extreme temperatures, without action, can quickly become a matter of life and death.
“IFRC is urging people to take this heatwave seriously and to look out for those most at risk to save lives.”
The network urged people to stay connected to heat alerts, follow advice from local authorities and check in on those who may be at higher risk.
Friel said the “most extreme impacts” were felt by vulnerable groups including the elderly, children, pregnant women, people with chronic illnesses, outdoor workers and the homeless.
National Red Cross societies were carrying out house calls, setting up cooling stations in cities, providing first aid and sharing practical advice, she said.
“Early action saves lives and we encourage everyone to act,” said Friel.
“Indoor heat is often a hidden threat, especially for people with limited mobility and underlying health conditions,” she added.
Heat stress, especially for such groups, was a “deadly, often a silent killer, invisible.”
As a choking early-summer heatwave smothered much of western Europe, red alerts and health warnings were issued in Britain, France, Italy and Spain, with France sweating through its hottest night ever recorded.
Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming, and warn they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense, driven by humans’ burning of fossil fuels.
The IFRC’s Friel said climate change and extreme heat was becoming a major public health risk, and “one of the defining humanitarian challenges of our time.”
Heat warnings spread in Europe
In the United Kingdom, the weather office issued a rare “red” weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday, saying temperatures could exceed 37°C (99°F) in the shade and could rise to 40°C in parts of England and Wales.
The Met Office said extreme temperatures could cause heat-sensitive equipment to fail, including power and mobile phone services.
Over the last four years, more than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes, and most of those were preventable, the World Health Organization’s Europe office said this month. The above-average temperatures can cause heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke.
The EU monitoring agency found that in Europe and globally, 2024 was the hottest year on record and the continent experienced its second-highest number of “heat stress” days.
Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.
The burning of gasoline, oil and coal, plus deforestation, wildfires and many kinds of factories, release heat-trapping gasses that cause climate change.
— with AFP
